Response strategies and marketing communication efforts of Cape Town gardening and plant retailers in reaction to the water crisis: an explorative study

Abstract

Completely dependent on water for its survival, the green industry encounters various obstacles when faced with water shortages. Having experienced its worst drought in over a decade, Cape Town’s water crisis forced gardening and plant retailers to re-examine and adjust their existing strategies in an attempt to remain profitable. With the use of semi-structured in-depth interviews, the response strategies, communication efforts and sales performance of five gardening and plant retailers with varying characteristics were explored in order to identify the effectiveness of these responses. Findings indicated that adaptation, redeployment and offensive strategies were utilised, of which the latter proved to be most successful. With higher budgets, larger plant retailers are able to employ more aggressive strategies, which essentially leads to an advantage over smaller nurseries that have limited funds to work with. However, business size does not necessarily determine success, seeing as the use of an offensive strategy can provide any business with a competitive advantage, regardless of its size. While no new communication channels need to be employed in reaction to the environmental issue, the use of campaigns relating to the issue are effective at informing customers of offerings that will satisfy their changing needs.